Monday, September 21, 2015

Pumpkin shortage in Illinois could surge prices in Florida

You eat 'em. You smash 'em. You carve 'em. Pumpkins are everywhere in the fall, that is, unless the state of Illinois has anything to say about it.

As of late, farmers in Illinois have been struggling to keep up their pumpkin patches due to heavy rainfall last spring, which causes the pumpkins to rot prematurely, reports WICS.

According to the University of Illinois, almost 90 percent of the nation's pumpkins come from Illinois.

These rotting pumpkin patches may cause prices to increase if retailers continue to get their pumpkins from Illinois due to demand exceeding supply.

It may be time for Florida to start looking to California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan for its pumpkins, which are the highest producing states behind Illinois, according to National Geographic.